Scooby Doo-Mystery Incoroporated: The Next Generation
by Jade Nocturna
Summary: Everyone knows that Scooby-Doo and Mystery Incorporated was a carton made up for the entertainment of little kids, right? But what if it wasn't just a cartoon? What if the story was real? And what if it doesn't stop there? Can the new Mystery Incorporated solve this riddle before history repeats itself? Join Mystery Incorporated in a race to save their town and their lives.
1. Prologue

"Hurry, gang, we don't have much time," said Fred as he led the group into the dark room below them. He waited until Scooby had passed by before shutting the door and locking it. "Daphne, light a candle; Velma, find the spell, Shaggy, Scooby, collect the items."

Velma opened the book to the page she'd marked and waited for Daphne to light the candle. She gathered her friends in a circle around a pile of their personal things.

Above them, the wicked laugh of the Dark Wizard cackled. They could hear his footsteps as he searched for them through the house.

Daphne grabbed Fred's hand in hers. "Freddie, what do we do now?"

"Don't worry, Daph, he won't find us down here."

"Like, what if he does, Fred," said Shaggy in a quivering voice as he glanced up toward the dirt ceiling.

"Yeah," Scooby agreed with his thick accent. "What if he does?"

"He won't," Fred assured them sternly. He fixed his gaze on the stoic girl across from him as she took off her glasses and placed it in the pile. "Is everyone ready?" He joined hands with his friends. "Read the spell, Velma."

Velma nodded, and closed her eyes. She had thought ahead and memorized the spell so that she wouldn't need her glasses. "Ut virtus ista obiecta remanebit donee suo tempore. Reliquis intra animum regere potest generatione ista, et deleamus Fusce ut simul veneficus."

Fred's ascot, Daphne's headband, Velma's glasses, Shaggy's shoes, and Scooby's collar began to glow as Velma finished the incantation. The gang sat in silence until Velma stopped speaking.

"Like, I guess that's it then," said Shaggy.

Velma nodded. "It's up to the next Mystery Incorporated to solve this case."

"And if they can't," Daphne asked.

Fred frowned. "Then everyone's doomed."


	2. Chapter One

"And so," said Professor Brown as he changed slides in the projector. "The biggest mystery that remains to be unsolved is the disappearance of four students from our very own college campus.

Professor Benjamin Brown was the school's criminology teacher. He didn't particularly enjoy his job, but it paid bills, and it wasn't too bad. The easy part was creating stupid slideshows that he could narrate as he went. The worst part of his job, though, were the students.

In every class he had, there were students like John Moore and Sheri Evans—they didn't seem that interested in the class in the first place. Even now, John was texting and Sheri was checking her image in a portable mirror. This year, in a class of thirty-eight, twenty-three of them were like John Moore and Sheri Evans.

But for every bad student, there had to be at least _one_ good one; and out of his seven decent students, Professor Brown had decided that Harper Riley was definitely his favorite. She never texted in class, or slept in class, or even looked away from his projection screen—though she did squint a lot.

As for the other eight students, they might as well have been zombies. They sat there and stared quietly, but Professor Brown was pretty sure no information was actually being _retained_. The professor usually dealt with these students with a lot of tolerance. Unless, of course, you count—

The professor's lecture was suddenly interrupted when the doors to the classroom burst open. All heads turned as Cooper Williams entered the room.

"Gavin," said the professor in a low voice, "thank you for joining us."

"I'm sorry I'm late, Professor Brown. I was—" The clock tower bell rung loudly. Cooper stood where he was as his classmates began to pass him by.

Matthew Parker slammed his right shoulder into Cooper's left, causing Cooper to drop most of his books. Matthew laughed and elbowed John in the ribcage to see what he thought of it.

John rolled his eyes. "You're so cool, man."

"What? It's funny. It's just your roommate," said Matthew in defense. "See you at practice?"

"Yeah, later. I gotta run somewhere real fast."

Matthew stepped on some of Cooper's stray papers before leaving. "See ya around, pothead."

Cooper turned around, as if he wanted to retaliate, but stopped when he realized that Matthew was waiting for him to say something. "I'm not a pothead," he mumbled.

"Mr. Williams," said Professor Brown sternly. "Come here, please."

Cooper sighed and followed Professor Brown to his desk. "Like, I know I've been late a lot, professor, but—"

"Gavin, we just started the semester. You've been late every day since the start. You can't keep doing this, son."

"I know, I know. I just—"

"Gavin, I think you can achieve much this year, but you're off to a bad start. Presentation is everything, son," he said as he pat Cooper on his shoulder. He turned suddenly as another student dropped all of her papers onto the ground.

"Ugh," Sheri screamed. "Thanks a lot. Now I've lost my place." She snatched some of her papers from Harper. "Auditions are today and I needed this practice."

Harper's nose crinkled as she frowned. "Shouldn't you already know your lines for your audition?"

Professor Brown stepped in before Sheri could say something. He helped Sheri pick up the rest of her papers and handed them to her. "Ms. Evans, good luck on your audition."

Sheri looked in between the professor and Harper and turned sharply on her heels. Her platinum blonde hair bounced behind her as she exited the room.

"It was my fault, Professor Brown," said Harper as she looked down. "I didn't see her and bumped into her. I didn't mean to cause a disturbance."

"Harper," said the professor. "Have you been having trouble seeing?"

"What? Of course not," she declared. "I'm fine."

"Harper," he said softly. "You're one of my top students. I would hate to see your grade fall in my classroom—especially if it's because of something that can be easily fixed."

"Hey," said Cooper, "you can find glasses at Jim's Pawn Shop."

Harper frowned at him and then turned toward Professor Brown. "Thank you for your concern, Professor. I'll look into it." She clutched her books to her chest and left the room.

"Professor Brown," said Cooper after watching Harper walking away. "Am I free to leave now?"

The professor sighed and waved the boy away.

Cooper left the room and walked outside with his books in his hands. He sighed and followed the crowd to the dorms.

"Hey," cried somebody nearby. "Stop that dog!"

Cooper turned and managed to catch a glimpse of the Great Dane before it tackled him to the ground. He tried to get out from underneath it as it ran its tongue all over his face. Someone from above took pity on him and managed to get the Great Dane off of him.

"Got you," the officer cried as he wrestled the dog to the ground. He pulled out a leash and tied it around the dog's neck. "It's off to the pound with you!"

"No, wait," Cooper yelled as he picked up his books. "There's, like, no need for that, officer! He's my dog!"

The balding officer looked between Cooper and the brown dog. "He's yours?"

"Yes. I recently bought him and, like, haven't been able to get him a collar yet."

The officer frowned at him and handed Cooper the leash. "Keep your dog in check, then. If I find him on campus without a collar, you'll be picking him up from the pound. Do you understand?"

"Like, yes, sir," said Cooper as he avoided the gaze of the intimidating officer. He watched the man go away and then looked down at the dog. "What am I going to do with you?"

The dog held Cooper's gaze with large brown eyes. He whimpered sadly and hung his head.

Guilt filled Cooper. "It doesn't seem like you have anywhere else to go," he said, as if the dog was supposed to answer him. "Why don't I get you something to eat, and then we'll see what we can do with you."

He led the dog through the halls until he got to his room. He went into the kitchen cupboards and opened them. "I don't really have any dog food…but dogs eat anything, right?" He gathered a couple of objects and slapped them together. "How about a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with pastrami, pickles, and bananas?"

The dog didn't protest, so Cooper placed the sandwich in a bowl and put it down in front of him.

"Bon appetite!" he cried with a flourish of his hands. He watched the dog as he ate his food and sighed again. "I could keep you here, I guess. Hope John likes dogs too." He could only imagine what would happen to him if _John_ was angry. Cooper was definitely the taller of the two, but John made up for their height difference with his physical fitness.

The dog sat up and cocked his head at Cooper, who had put his head on the counter.

Cooper let go of his worries and looked at the dog. "Let's see what we can do about finding you a collar," he said with a smile. "Jimmy's gotta have something at his pawn shop."

Harper had a difficult time finding the pawn shop. She had been dreading the day that her eyesight would deteriorate so badly that she would be forced to get glasses. She'd go for contacts, but her college budget wouldn't allow it.

"Hello?" said Harper as she peered into the dimly lit room. She could barely make out the shelves of objects around her, let alone the service desk she needed. Suddenly, she found herself bumping into someone beside her. "Oh! I'm so sorry," she mumbled.

"It's okay," said the woman in a false voice.

Harper could tell that it was false because the woman had to cough before she spoke. After a few moments of squinting, Harper saw that the girl was dressed all in purple, with something covering the majority of her face. She could bet, though, that underneath the sea of yellow hair, she'd find a pair of sea blue eyes. "Sheri?"

"No, no," said Sheri in her fake voice again.

Someone behind Sheri laughed loudly. "Sheri Evans? Wow," said John, "never thought I'd see _you_ here."

Sheri frowned at the handsome boy and placed her hands on her hips. "You're one to talk, Johnny. What would the team think of you if they knew you shopped at the pawn shop?"

John shrugged. "We're guys—we don't care about where we shop like girls do."

Harper crossed her arms. She couldn't see him, but she had a pretty good idea where he was. "Excuse me," she exclaimed. "Not _all_ girls are as superficial as Sheri. _Some_ of us actually care about important things—like school."

Sheri scoffed. "Well, I'm sorry we can't all be as studious as you, Harper. And for your information, drama _is_ important. Without drama, we wouldn't have Hollywood, movies—"

"And who _creates_ those movies you go to? The _smart_ people who know how to work a camera."

"Well, I don't see those 'smart' people _in_ the movies. It's the actors and actresses who _make_ the movie."

"Please," Harper exclaimed. "They get paid to do what they do best—sit there and look pretty."

"Ladies, ladies," said John with a smile. "This is exactly what I mean. All you girls care about is petty things. School, movies—who cares? In the end, it doesn't matter where you went to school, or what store you got your shoes from."

The bell over the door chimed as Cooper and his dog entered the store. Cooper smiled nervously. "Oh, did you come here for shoes, too, John?"

"You want shoes," said an old man as he emerged from the curtained room in the back of the store. "I have shoes. You can find everything you need here. Welcome to Jim's Pawn Shop! What can I interest you in," he asked.

Harper stepped forward before anyone else could. "I need a pair of glasses," she said quietly. "Don't worry about the prescription—I'll get that myself."

"Yes, but before you get her glasses," said Sheri, "I'm looking for something to make me look a little more…innocent."

"You could _start_ with your wardrobe," Harper muttered.

"I'll get those right away," said Jim with a smile. He turned toward the boys. "And what can I get for you two?"

"I'm looking for presentable shoes," Cooper said with a shrug. "Oh! And a collar for my dog, please."

"And you, sir?"

"I'm really just browsing through."

Jim smiled again. "I have just the things for browsers. I'll be right back." He disappeared behind the curtain again. Moments later, he returned with a box of objects and a pair of shoes.

"A headband," Sheri sneered. "I don't know." She held up the green thing with an uninterested finger, but put it on anyway. After fixing her hair in the mirror, she smiled. "It's perfect! Just the thing I need for my audition."

"This is for an audition," Harper asked.

"Of course. What'd you think it'd be for?"

Cooper put on the pair of brown shoes and stood up. Somehow, he felt even taller than before. He walked around in a circle for a moment, testing them out. "Like, wow, man. Not bad, huh?" He bent back down and placed the blue collar around the dog's neck.

Jim handed John an orange ascot.

John frowned. "An ascot? Thanks, man, but I think we've left that era behind."

"But all the fashion nowadays is heading backwards," Jim protested. "You could be the first one to bring it back. And a guy like you should be able to turn this around quite quickly."

John shrugged and tied it around his neck. He snatched the mirror from Sheri and admired himself. "Not bad. I could work with this."

"And for you," Jim said as he turned toward Harper. He picked up a pair of glasses and helped set them on her face. "What do you think? Very intelligent, no?"

She was surprised that the glasses worked even without a prescription. Harper took the mirror in her hands and gasped. It'd been so long since she'd _really_ seen her reflection. She didn't look that bad, almost as pretty as Sheri. Of course, no one would notice that now that she had these grandma glasses on. "Jinkies," she said suddenly.

The word was so foreign to her. She wasn't even sure that she'd been the one who'd said it. She looked around to see if any of the others had heard her. Unfortunately for Harper, they had.

John laughed. " 'Jinkies'? Who says that anymore?"

Harper frowned and asked Jim, who she could now see properly, "How much for the glasses?"

Jim smiled. "I've been trying to get rid of these objects for decades. How 'bout I give them to you guys on the house?"

Harper's frown deepened. Her cynical mind didn't believe in people giving things away "for free". "What's the catch, mister?"

"No catch. Just enjoy my product, and come back again soon!" He waved at them until they left his store.

Sheri turned on her heels and glared at the rest of them. "If any of you should tell anyone that I was seen in this store, I'll ruin your lives at school."

"Seriously," said Harper. "_That's_ the threat you give us? I'd rather keep my mouth shut to avoid the nuisance you'll become when you get on my case about it."

Sheri frowned but accepted the deal. "See to it that you _do_ keep your mouth shut." She spun around again and walked to her purple Corvette.

John glanced at Cooper. "Is that thing coming back with us?"

Cooper could feel his knees begin to wobble. "Yes. He needs a home."

John sighed in exasperation. "Just make sure none of the guys find out about it, okay?" He drove off in his black Corolla.

Cooper cleared his throat and ran his hand through his messy black hair. "So, Harper, do you wanna, like, walk back with me and my dog?"

She looked down at the brown animal that was drooling on Cooper's new shoes. "I'm really more of a cat person. Besides, I have to run some more errands. I think I'll just catch a cab."

"Okay. Then I'll, like, see you around?"

She gave him a half-hearted smile and nodded. "Goodbye, Cooper." She hurried into the bookstore across the street.

Cooper sighed and looked down at the dog. "That didn't go as well as I hoped it would."

The dog frowned. "Yuck," he said. "I hate cats." His deep voice was laced with a heavy accent that made it difficult to understand what he was saying.

Cooper jumped back, surprised. "You just spoke!" He put his hands on his head. "Maybe I really have gone crazy." He bent down and locked eyes with the dog. "Uh…like, say something else."

The dog wagged its tail. "Like what?"

"This is insane," Cooper whispered. He started to walk across the street to the bookstore and then stopped in his tracks. If this _was_ a trick of his mind, then he didn't want Harper to think he was crazy.

The dog followed him. "Where are we going?"

"Uh…" said Cooper, a little unnerved by the fact the dog was still talking to him. "We're gonna go back to the dorm."

"And get a snack?"

"Yeah," he replied. "We're gonna, like, get a snack."

Cooper watched as the dog went through his box of cereal. He had gotten so used to the dog talking that it was strange to see him silent now. "This is crazy," he told himself. "You had a conversation with a dog. A _dog_."

"Hey, Cooper," said the dog. "Got anything else to eat?"

Cooper reached into the cabinet and pulled out a can of beans. He cracked the can open and set it down. "Sure. Here you go." He took a step back and stroked the whiskers of hair at the bottom of his chin. "You know, I should really, like, figure out what to call you."

"Okay."

"Like, what do _you_ wanna be called?"

"Whatever you wanna call me, Cooper?"

"Okay, then." Cooper thought for a moment. "Maxwell?"

The dog shook his head.

"Fido?"

Again, the dog shook his head.

"Winn-Dixie?"

The dog didn't even bother to look up this time.

"Like, come on, man," Cooper groaned, "you just said you were fine with whatever I wanted to call you."

"Come up with something _else_ to call me," the pup ordered.

Cooper thought about it for a while. "Like, I'm really not good with names. How about I experiment with a few until one sticks?"

The dog nodded and returned to his food.

Suddenly, there was a knock on Cooper's door. He answered it and found Sheri standing before him.

"Sheri?"

She still had on her green headband. "Oh, Cooper. I'm looking for Fred."

"Who?"

"Fred," she insisted.

"Um, there's, like, no one named Fred here."

She blinked at him for a moment and then shook her head. "Of course there isn't. I meant John. Is John…here?"

"No. I think he's, like, playing tonight."

"Right," she said with a shake of her head. "Well, come on, then."

"Excuse me?"

"We've gotta get to that football game."

"But, like, why do you need _me_ to come with you?"

"All of my friends are practicing for the big play, I can't find Harper _anywhere_, and I can't go _alone_?"

"Why not? People do it, like, all the time."

"No one goes to football games by themselves, Cooper. Now, come on!" She grabbed his hand and pulled him out of his room.

"Wait," he cried as he looked back at his the dog. "Come here, Ralph."

Sheri scrunched up her nose. "You named the dog Ralph?"

Cooper shrugged and closed the door as the dog tumbled out. "I'm really just testing names until one decides to, like, stick. Got any ideas," he asked the dog as they ran out of the dorm.

"Ooh!" cried Sheri, thinking he'd been speaking to her. "There's a character in our play whose name is Sammy Day. That'd be so cute for you dog."

"He's a Great Dane, not a Chihuahua," said Harper as they nearly ran into her at the bottom of the stairs. "Where are you three headed off to in such a rush?"

"Where have you _been_," Sheri raged as she grabbed Harper by the wrist and pulled her along. "I've been looking everywhere for you."

"Well, forgive me for not expecting that." Harper was running so fast that she had to push her glasses up her nose so that they wouldn't fall. She glanced at Cooper and his dog as they all came to a stop at the stadium. "You're not _really_ going to name your dog Sammy Day, are you?"

"Oh," said Cooper nervously. "I wasn't—I don't really know—I'm just, like, testing names, you know?"

Sheri turned toward Cooper and said, "Well, thank you for getting me here, Cooper. But now that Harper's here, you can leave if you want to."

"I'm already down here," said Cooper quickly. "I might as well, like, stay."

"Since when do you look for me and _Cooper_ as company, Sheri," asked Harper with a raised eyebrow as she and the others entered the football stadium.

Sheri shrugged. "I just felt like being with you guys."

"That's exactly my point, Sheri." She had to shout over the loud cheering of the crowd. "We've been in the same class since pre-school, and you've never shown interest in being friends with either of us."

"And maybe I've come to realize just how wrong I was."

Harper crossed her arms and turned toward Cooper. "I don't believe anything she's saying, Cooper. Do you?"

"Um," he stuttered. "Like, I think maybe we should give her a chance. I mean, you don't really hang out with me either and I don't mind." He quickly tried to make up for his words. "Not that I expected you to, or anything. As a matter of fact, I—"He silenced himself as the lights and the stadium blew out.

"Jeepers," cried Sheri, alarmed.

"'Jeepers'? And you got on my case for 'jinkies'," asked Harper.

"What happened?"

"Relax, Blondie. The power must've gone out. Rival schools often try and sabotage important games."

A large explosion in the middle of the field encouraged all the screams of panic from the crowd. From the orange flames grew a black shadow that reared its dark head and roared loudly, revealing a set of red teeth.

"Tempus est," it cried.

"What's it saying," Sheri yelled, her face illuminated by the flames.

"It is time," Harper translated. "It's speaking in Latin!"

"Prophetia impleta fuerit!" the shadow yelled.

"The prophecy shall be fulfilled!"

"Jube, quorum casus expectet eos pro velamine currunt, ne historia ipsa rursus iterare."

"May those whose fate awaits them run for cover, lest history repeat itself once more."

"Orci spiritus, orietur in tenebris dominum!"

Harper gasped and grabbed Cooper and Sheri by their hands. "Guys, get down!"

"Why?" Sheri asked. She did as she was told, but she kept her face lifted to see what was happening.

"Like, what he'd say," Cooper chattered through his teeth.

The ground shook underneath them as ghostly figures popped out of the ground. Animated corpses found their way to the surface of the football field.

"Spirits of the underworld, arise for your master the Dark Shadow!" Harper repeated in a whisper.

Sheri gasped and stood up. "Fred!" she screamed. She rushed down to the football field.

"No, wait," cried Harper as she chased after her. "Come on, Cooper!"

After a moment's hesitation, Cooper and his dog followed. "This is _not_ a good idea! Not a good idea, at all." He approached the football field, where he found Sheri trying to hug John, and Harper screaming at the both of them about the danger that was to come.

Suddenly, a large banner fell down on top of them. As they scrambled underneath it, trying to find a way out, deep voices chanted around them.

And that was the last thing any of them remembered before being brought to the police.


End file.
